What makes a candidate stand out from the rest during an interview to make you want to offer them a position?
I've had several very good interviews, and been the first runner up at least 3 times now and it's getting old. I feel like I interview well (and that's the feedback I get from managers), but something is clearly standing in the way of me being the perfect candidate. I realize you don't know me personally or how I interview, but if you can share your experiences with candidates who really shined above the rest, that would be awesome.
Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse, Case Management.
Engage the interviewer by asking her to tell you about herself, how she became a nurse manager, etc. Also, ask questions specifically tailored to the unit for which you're applying. Additionally, ask about the lack of reimbursement for hospital acquired infections, and let them know that you will be meticulous in your care and documenting to ensure appropriate reimbursement. Good luck.
Interestingly, right after I responded I had an interview. I did my best to follow my own advice, but you know how these things can get off track. This was the most structured interview I had ever been through which is good and bad. Good because they can gauge all applicants on the same questions. Bad because it's so darn repetitive. There wasn't a single question out of the six they asked that I hadn't been asked a thousand times before. That's another piece of advice I can offer, interview...interview...interview, even just for practice. If you need a partner let me know, I will be happen to practice with you and give you feedback.
I did end up getting an offer during the interview so apparently I did ok.
Congrats on the offer! :) Great job!!
I take the opportunity to interview anytime it's offered, even if I know I have no desire to take the job. I did turn down a psych position after interviewing awhile back, and should have turned down a SNF position!
I've seen both the uber structured interviews, very casual interviews, and everything in between. I interviewed for an ICU position then an ED position within about 2 weeks of each other with the same manager, and for each, there is a panel, and they ask you the exact same questions, with each panel member writing stuff down after each question. I was able to give some different answers the second time around, though the first time around was when I was called back for the second interview to break a tie. The ED interview was a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't heard back anything (so I didn't get it). I wish I'd had the ED one first, because I love ED much more than ICU.
Engage the interviewer by asking her to tell you about herself, how she became a nurse manager, etc. Also, ask questions specifically tailored to the unit for which you're applying. Additionally, ask about the lack of reimbursement for hospital acquired infections, and let them know that you will be meticulous in your care and documenting to ensure appropriate reimbursement. Good luck.
In L&D and postpartum, HAIs aren't as big of a concern, though I do speak to a septic patient we had on the floor and my initiating getting her moved, so I hope that shows that I am conscientious about such things. This last interview, for mother baby, I had done some research and was able to speak to the fact that they are Baby Friendly, and that I have years of lactation experience and I work for a Baby Friendly-designated facility. I did ask about some of the challenges they face with maintaining that designation.
For ICU and ED, HAIs are certainly more relevant, and I can speak more to that. Thanks! :)
People like to talk about themselves. When given the opportunities, ask your interviewers why they enjoy the unit, what great things they've done and achieved etc. Lasting impressions matter. I left my portfolio, a high quality minimalistic business card both which had a direct link to my e portfolio. And this may not play a key role but it helped seal the deal for me. I interviewed last that day. Prior to me I was told there were great candidates but something was off with each individual. Apparently I interviewed well and my panel was done, didn't want to go through several hundred more apps and waste another day. Pm me and I'll try to find my e portfolio link for you.. If it still works. I went not only the extra mile, but a whole marathon.
We'll see how this goes- I have an interview for an outpatient position next week. Full time job, not really in an area of nursing that appeals to me, frankly, but I can't beat a benefitted FT job right now.
@RunBabyRunRN I'm not sure if you wrote it somewhere...but what is your nursing experience? In my facility, if you don't have experience in the specialized areas like ICU or ED..you need to apply through a New Specialty Program. It is for experienced RN's (at least 1 year) that would like to transition to a different/new "specialty."
@SoCaLRN, I have only been licensed since June. I have been doing health fairs and home infusions since then, and just started at a freestanding birth center.
I am only applying for jobs that don't require experience. Everything I've interviewed for has either been a new grad position or one where they're willing to train a new grad. Anything that says it requires experience I leave alone.
I also have several years of other healthcare experience, as a Navy corpsman, phlebotomist, first responder and lactation specialist, so I have more experience than most new grads, but it's not RN experience, and it certainly doesn't count as acute care RN experience.
You are getting interviews, so your resume must be pristine, I don't think I would change anything with that.
I know you do your homework and know enough about the facility to wow them with that knowledge, you have put enough info in here for the jobs you are applying for that no one can question that you do your homework.
I assume you are dressing professionally, not wearing perfume, and that you don't come across as being overly nervous. Your questions to the interviewers look good. In my mind, as a new grad the only thing I wonder about if you are overconfident? In here you come across as probably the most experienced new grad I have met. You have accomplished a lot before you ever got licensed and to me you sound like a perfect candidate, but to an interviewer a new grad may be expected to be a bit less experienced. They may perhaps be worried that in your previous roles, you learned too much but the wrong way. You may want to speak a little less about prior experiences. We new grads are hired over experienced nurses in part because they know that they can mold us into what for them is the perfect nurse, and if you learned how to do a,b,c at another facility in a different way they may think you aren't "moldable".
I've been reading your posts since June, you and I passed NCLEX the same day if I remember right, and you come across as an intelligent fantastic nurse, but if I didn't know better I would think that you had years of experience instead of being a new grad. They want someone to teach, make it clear you are dying to learn and tone down some of the past experience and see if that works for you.
You are getting interviews, so your resume must be pristine, I don't think I would change anything with that.
I know you do your homework and know enough about the facility to wow them with that knowledge, you have put enough info in here for the jobs you are applying for that no one can question that you do your homework.
I assume you are dressing professionally, not wearing perfume, and that you don't come across as being overly nervous. Your questions to the interviewers look good. In my mind, as a new grad the only thing I wonder about if you are overconfident? In here you come across as probably the most experienced new grad I have met. You have accomplished a lot before you ever got licensed and to me you sound like a perfect candidate, but to an interviewer a new grad may be expected to be a bit less experienced. They may perhaps be worried that in your previous roles, you learned too much but the wrong way. You may want to speak a little less about prior experiences. We new grads are hired over experienced nurses in part because they know that they can mold us into what for them is the perfect nurse, and if you learned how to do a,b,c at another facility in a different way they may think you aren't "moldable".
I've been reading your posts since June, you and I passed NCLEX the same day if I remember right, and you come across as an intelligent fantastic nurse, but if I didn't know better I would think that you had years of experience instead of being a new grad. They want someone to teach, make it clear you are dying to learn and tone down some of the past experience and see if that works for you.
I wonder if this is at least part of it. I do try to make it clear that I love to learn, that I want to learn, I am trainable, but I feel like I'm in this limbo of being too experienced and not experienced enough, and I've been concerned about that from the beginning. I don't want to outright lie about my experience, but I don't put all of it on my resume or speak about all of it. I focus more on my military experience and if it's an OB job, my lactation experience.
I remember my clinical instructor saying that it can go either way with ex-military medics- either they're awesome or they're really stuck in their ways. Maybe I need to find a new way to convey to them that I am teachable. When they ask at interviews what my clinical instructors or former managers would say about me, I include that I am a fast learner. I also talk about researching stuff about my patients that I have for infusions. There is always interesting stuff in their histories that I've never heard of! Maybe I'll try to speak more to learning experiences in nursing school. Thanks for this!
I had an interview last week for an outpatient urology job, but I won't hear back for at least another week. That was one interview where talking up my experience is probably better, because it's not specifically a new grad position, but experience isn't required. I tried to mention some of the experience that I have that's not on my resume (5 years in retail management in particular, because I'd be overseeing MAs).
I got an offer today! Full time in outpatient oncology! I am super excited!
In my interview, I did speak to being eager to learn, and having a strong foundation upon which to build my knowledge, so I hope that helped. Thank you all for the suggestions and guidance! :)
B52, BSN, MSN, RN
238 Posts
Engage the interviewer by asking her to tell you about herself, how she became a nurse manager, etc. Also, ask questions specifically tailored to the unit for which you're applying. Additionally, ask about the lack of reimbursement for hospital acquired infections, and let them know that you will be meticulous in your care and documenting to ensure appropriate reimbursement. Good luck.